overdrive

noun

over·​drive ˈō-vər-ˌdrīv 

1

: an automotive transmission gear that transmits to the drive shaft a speed greater than engine speed

2

: a state of heightened activity

going into rhetorical overdrive

Examples of overdrive in a Sentence

He put the car into overdrive.

His acting career is in overdrive.

The reporters went into overdrive to finish their stories on time.

Recent Examples on the Web

Today marks the first official day of summer, which means my travel schedule is about to go into overdrive with trips to the Hamptons, Cape Cod, New Hampshire, and more on the calendar in the coming weeks. —Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 20 June 2025

Sensing the problem, your heart jumps into overdrive, overcompensating by beating way too fast (which is what tachycardia means). —Rachel Nall, SELF, 17 June 2025

The buzz around nuclear fusion has kicked into overdrive in recent years. —Sam Meredith, CNBC, 11 June 2025

While no one is forecasting this for Lilo & Stitch, sometimes these fan-fave Disney movies can go into overdrive, i.e. Inside Out 2 owns the best second weekend ever for a PG movie of $101.2M. —Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 1 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1926, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for overdrive

• alive
• archive
• arrive
• beehive
• connive
• contrive
• deprive
• derive
• revive
• survive
• dive
• drive

Kids Definition

overdrive

noun

over·​drive ˈō-vər-ˌdrīv 

: a transmission gear in an automobile that allows the drive shaft to operate at a speed greater than that of the engine crankshaft